[Megathread] DotA 2

[hailey]

seems steam wallet is the only way at the moment. I had to add $5 to buy a key just to try it out. Now to decide if I hold onto my remaining 2.51 for another chest or buy something cheap!

[Finear]

good advice
dont play past 3am on EU servers
i lost 7 games in a row because of russians leaving or afking ;_;

we were winning and wr just went afk

[iggie]

Where are all the altruistic mmo champion people with extra keys?

[Freezymcgee]

Where are all the altruistic mmo champion people with extra keys?

You can actually buy Beta invites for 39.99 on the store, not sure exactly how they work but if you know a trusted person who has Dota2 you could just give them the cash to get it for you.

[Finear]

You can actually buy Beta invites for 39.99 on the store, not sure exactly how they work but if you know a trusted person who has Dota2 you could just give them the cash to get it for you.

afaik you can buy dota invite without beta access just go to http://www.dota2.com/store/

[iggie]

Store is down (currently) and the official forums as linked by steampower which has the giveaways is having 504 gateway errors. :|

[Nightfury Treann]

haha! just got a Fancy hat for the Kunkka and a unlockable box

[Lysah]

Hats hats HATS!

[Ultraviolet Harmonies]

I think I've figured it out, finally. The team you are not on get hats. You get boxes.

[Deleted]

So what exactly are these items?

Visual customizations for each 'hero'?

[Fencers]

So what exactly are these items?

Visual customizations for each 'hero'?

Basically, yes.

DOTA2 heroes you can dress up piece by piece unlike LOL where you have to have the whole outfit/skin.

[iggie]

DOTA store is still down. So I just pay $ for the key through my roommate who plays? (he can buy it) I wish I could just buy $30 in store credits to spend on in game items and get a key from that.

[PizzaSHARK]

Mmm, that invite is pretty tempting. Still, $40 is kind of a steep investment; I don't really have any interest in the items. I'd much rather pay $20 for an invite alone than $40 for a bunch of crap I don't want.

That, or I'd rather the $40 include some battle point boosters or those "give goodies to everyone else in the game" things.

[iggie]

Mmm, that invite is pretty tempting.

Agreed, but I'll wait myself for an invite from whoever whenever, or I'll wait until the game comes out.

[llDemonll]

Agreed, but I'll wait myself for an invite from whoever whenever, or I'll wait until the game comes out.

This. I know they've obviously made some money off selling that key, but I think the game will be out in Q3/Q4 sometime

[Hraklea]

I loved how they announced DotA 2 as a free game and first thing you when you open the store is a "access to beta test" for U$ 40.

I loved the courier skins and Furion beards. I might buy some skins in a near future.

[Ultraviolet Harmonies]

Valve is giving out free items to random viewers of DotATV right now. If you have someone in the game on your friends list, you can get in before DotATV opens (6 minutes into the game), and you'll get even more stuff. I was given five items just because I got in during the picks.

[Finear]

Valve is giving out free items to random viewers of DotATV right now. If you have someone in the game on your friends list, you can get in before DotATV opens (6 minutes into the game), and you'll get even more stuff. I was given five items just because I got in during the picks.

how exactly does it work?

good advice
dont play past 3am on EU servers

so yeah....yet another night
3 losses in a row

[iggie]

I loved how they announced DotA 2 as a free game and first thing you when you open the store is a "access to beta test" for U$ 40.

I loved the courier skins and Furion beards. I might buy some skins in a near future.

Maybe that's why keys are so rare now.

[Ultraviolet Harmonies]

how exactly does it work?

Finol of Valve tried out the new DotATV system for the invitational qualifiers that start tomorrow. SingSing, ComeWithMe, Black^, 1437, SexyBamboe (from Mousesports), one guy from LGD, Pajkatt (CLG), wEppas (2GD), Cyborgmatt and FatChocobo had a 5v5 under the supervision of Finol. This was being casted by TobiWan and James/2GD. Six minutes into the game, it shows up under the 'watch'-tab. Finol and another Valve employee sporadically gave out items to random spectators (Finol gave them whenever Cyborgmatt was killed). They tried this before the first game (it was remade twice) opened up on the 'watch'-tab a few times, giving me (and the other 5-6 spectators) a few items each.

They've added new options to allow you watch streamers inside of the client. The people sitting in the 'broadcaster'-spots gets added to the Camera- and Audio options for all spectators. If you picked TobiWan for example, you could see his perspective and his audio. You can also choose to have a player's perspective (or free camera/hero chase/etc) with one of the casters' audio. The whole system is incredible, albeit a bit laggy on the test run.

I'm not sure what this means for casters like TobiWan/TriumphOfMan/Luminous/GoDz/Purge/Ayesee et cetera. They're going to lose the neat sponsor overlays they do with Xsplit - they're probably have to do shout outs to sponsors every so often. Pair this with lost ad revenue, and I'm not too sure what this means for most casters. I, as a viewer, absolutely adore this new feature though.

Oh also, the six minute delay is in place to counter ghosting (it used to be two minutes, but due to some fishy counter warding in recent games they chose to up it).

Edit: With the Invitational qualifiers starting today (10 hours/15 hours (east/west) respectively) - what teams are you guys rooting for? Any predictions? I'm personally rooting for Mouz, mTW and Keita from East, but only MiTH.Trust from West. I'd gladly see World Elite go on from West, though, as I really enjoy watching them play.